Structural highlights
Function
PAPC_ECOLX Involved in the export and assembly of pili subunits across the outer membrane. Forms a hexameric ring-shaped pore in the outer bacterial membrane. The 2 nanometer-diameter pore allows the passage of the thin tip fibrillum. As for the rod, it probably unwinds into linear fibers which would therefore be narrow enough to pass through the pore.
Publication Abstract from PubMed
Uropathogenic Escherichia coli assemble surface structures termed pili or fimbriae to initiate infection of the urinary tract. P pili facilitate bacterial colonization of the kidney and pyelonephritis. P pili are assembled through the conserved chaperone-usher pathway. Much of the structural and functional understanding of the chaperone-usher pathway has been gained through investigations of type 1 pili, which promote binding to the bladder and cystitis. In contrast, the structural basis for P pilus biogenesis at the usher has remained elusive. This is in part due to the flexible and variable-length P pilus tip fiber, creating structural heterogeneity, and difficulties isolating stable P pilus assembly intermediates. Here, we circumvent these hindrances and determine cryo-electron microscopy structures of the activated PapC usher in the process of secreting two- and three-subunit P pilus assembly intermediates, revealing processive steps in P pilus biogenesis and capturing new conformational dynamics of the usher assembly machine.
Processive dynamics of the usher assembly platform during uropathogenic Escherichia coli P pilus biogenesis.,Du M, Yuan Z, Werneburg GT, Henderson NS, Chauhan H, Kovach A, Zhao G, Johl J, Li H, Thanassi DG Nat Commun. 2021 Sep 1;12(1):5207. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-25522-6. PMID:34471127[1]
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
See Also
References
- ↑ Du M, Yuan Z, Werneburg GT, Henderson NS, Chauhan H, Kovach A, Zhao G, Johl J, Li H, Thanassi DG. Processive dynamics of the usher assembly platform during uropathogenic Escherichia coli P pilus biogenesis. Nat Commun. 2021 Sep 1;12(1):5207. PMID:34471127 doi:10.1038/s41467-021-25522-6
